Fast Learner
by thepurplewriter333
Summary: "You want to try cartography?" "Sure. How hard can it be?" "In that case, I trust you'll do perfectly well, m'lady." "Yeah. Just you watch." Astrid's first try at mapping, with Hiccup as her mentor. Hiccstrid. One-shot/drabble.


**So, I've never really done a drabble before, but I got an ask on tumblr and I just had to do one. :D It's set somewhere where Hiccup's starting to take his cartography career a little more seriously, so probably a little before the second movie, if any of you were confused. :) Enjoy, guys!**

 **Prompt: _"Well, that's tragic."_**

* * *

"How's that coming along?" Astrid asked, making her way over from Stormfly to where Hiccup sat on the ground, bent intently over his map.

Hiccup acknowledged her with a friendly grunt as she plopped down beside him, but didn't remove his eyes from his work. Astrid cleared her throat, but he still didn't look up.

She smirked, and said, "Having fun there?"

Shaking his head, Hiccup looked up, meeting her eyes. "On the contrary, m'lady. This map just isn't big enough for all that I want to put down. I've tried to expand it, but…" He gestured to the flimsy map spread out on the grass. "It just never works out."

Astrid sighed dramatically, leaning into him. "Well, that's tragic!"

Hiccup raised his brow. "Clearly, you don't understand the beauty of cartography."

"No. I guess I don't." She sat upwards, looking out into the place Hiccup was trying to draw.

Instantly, her breath was stolen from her. A small line of islands led out like stepping stones into the sea, their green trees and vibrant grasses glowing brightly in the sunlight. The blue sea around them complimented the picturesque theme, and she turned to Hiccup, curious. "You want to map all of that?"

Hiccup grunted, already leaning back over the map and scribbling on the very top corner of it. It seemed that almost immediately he ran out of room and, furiously, he threw his piece of charcoal away. "That's it! I'm done!"

Astrid laughed, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. "Come on, babe. I have an idea."

Tearing off a patch of her blue skirt, she looked over it with inspective eyes before handing it to Hiccup. "Use this." When he hesitated, she nodded in encouragement. "Go on. It'll give you more room."

Hiccup tenderly took the fabric, and then looking behind his shoulder, he called, "Toothless!"

The excited Night Fury, who had previously been playing with Stormfly, bounded over, and when Hiccup held up the strip of cloth, he instantly ran his wet tongue all over it. At Astrid's disgusted look, Hiccup shrugged. "Night Fury saliva has its uses."

"Some uses in which I'd prefer not to see."

"Remember, m'lady, you're the one who gave me the fabric in the first place."

She punched him. "And don't you forget it."

Hiccup pressed the piece of cloth at the upper right corner of the map, where it stuck with a small _**smack**_ to the rest of the fabric. He examined it thoughtfully, only pulling back when he was satisfied with how it looked. "Perfect fit."

Astrid nudged him. "See? Looks like you should listen to me more often. Especially when it comes to your maps and your drawings."

Hiccup raised his brow. " _You_ want to try cartography?"

After a beat, Astrid nodded. "Sure." She shrugged. "How hard can it be? I've seen you do it before."

"In that case, I trust you'll do perfectly well, m'lady." Hiccup handed her the charcoal, then scooted back a little and watched her with an amused gaze.

"Yeah. Just you watch." Rolling her eyes, Astrid bent over the map and startled to scratch the charcoal over the new blue patch that was connected to it. To her chagrin, her drawing ended up sloppy and smudged, not at all how she expected it to turn out.

With a shake of her head, Astrid sat all the way up. "Honestly… I don't know how you do it, Hiccup."

"I was hoping you'd say that," he said, grinning slyly. When Astrid handed it over, he took the charcoal and gripped it firmly. "It takes a strong but guiding hand to get the effect you want. Like this." He pressed down on top of Astrid's blurred lines, instantly making one of them more prominent than before.

Astrid's hand found its way on top of Hiccup's. "Like this?" She moved the charcoal across another line, proud with the dark black streak that appeared when she was done.

Hiccup smiled. "Yes. Exactly like that. You're a fast learner."

"As always." She looked down at the map again. "You know, you could let me take over sometimes. If you wanted to, that is. I kind of like it. It's… interesting."

Releasing his hand, Hiccup gave a slow nod. "All right. Give it a try, m'lady. Who knows?" He inched closer to her playfully. "You may just be doing all my maps for me in the future."

Astrid shot him a black look. "Don't get your hopes up too far, dragon boy." She paused thoughtfully, tapping her chin. "Or should I call you map boy...?"

Hiccup groaned, instantly protesting about how childish 'map boy' sounded, and how he'd be teased relentlessly on Berk if anyone ever caught wind of the new nickname.

"All right, all right," Astrid laughed, shaking her head. "I won't tell anyone."

Hiccup crossed his arms. "Good."

But the truth, was… well...

He kind of liked it.


End file.
